Upstream Battle: What Is Killing Off the Fraser River's Sockeye Salmon? [Slide Show]

A recent study suggests a mystery pathogen acting in concert with human-induced stressors may be the culprits

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SALMON REFUGE?:

In the Columbia River Basin some biologists hope that high elevation tributaries of the Columbia can serve as cooler refuges for salmon when climate change makes their usual waterways too warm for them.....[
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SALMON REFUGE?:

In the Columbia River Basin some biologists hope that high elevation tributaries of the Columbia can serve as cooler refuges for salmon when climate change makes their usual waterways too warm for them. Pictured is the upper Lochsa River in Idaho.

RESTORATION EFFORTS:

In the Columbia River Basin in the U.S., federal agencies run extensive programs to try to restore local salmon populations. Here, the Army Corps of Engineers pipes juvenile salmon into trucks to drive them downstream.....[
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RESTORATION EFFORTS:

In the Columbia River Basin in the U.S., federal agencies run extensive programs to try to restore local salmon populations. Here, the Army Corps of Engineers pipes juvenile salmon into trucks to drive them downstream.

TURBULENT TIMES:

TURBULENT TIMES:

OTHERS AFFECTED:

Researchers have correlated a certain pattern of gene expression with premature, pre-spawning deaths in Fraser River sockeye salmon. The genetic signature, which is indicative of a viral infection, shows up in coho and Chinook salmon, too, like this Chinook adult swimming to its spawning ground.....[
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]

OTHERS AFFECTED:

Researchers have correlated a certain pattern of gene expression with premature, pre-spawning deaths in Fraser River sockeye salmon. The genetic signature, which is indicative of a viral infection, shows up in coho and Chinook salmon, too, like this Chinook adult swimming to its spawning ground.